Best Day Ever
by EE's Skysong
Summary: Katara never quite stopped believing in fairy tales. Mai never began. Ch. 2: Which is very silly because Zuko hates everyone. Except Mai, who refuses to be simplified. TophAangKataraZukoMai sandwich. AND HOW.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: "Feel guilty. Swim in it until your fingers get all pruney."

(An: This has a mishmash of pairings because I am not good at making up my mind. This story is told quite a bit in flashbacks and recaps; whenever there's a paragraph break, that symbolizes a switch between the regular narration and a flashback. I know there are a lot of cuts, but that's my attempts to keep it clear. To clarify, I put Aang at eighteen in this fic. Also, this starts out silly, but it gets angsty. I meant to keep it light… but it didn't work.)

Wedding receptions. Those crazy, drunken, after-the-fact celebrations. People either cherish their memories of them forever, wake up wondering what on earth they did last at them, or wish they didn't know. It's traditional for friends and family of the couple to stand up and say something nice about the newlyweds. Sometimes they're embarrassing, sometimes heartfelt, and sometimes just plain sloshed. One didn't need the senses of an armadillo-lion to know which category Aang's fell into.

"Sokka and Toph! Who'da thunk it!" Most of the guests were starting to get a little concerned by now, not least of all the bride and groom. But Aang was smiling broadly enough, even though he was clearly not a happy drunk. He knocked back the drink in his hand. "Not me, that's for sure! But here we are! And I just want you all to know," here he leaned forward and almost fell over, "that I wish them the very BEST! Absolutely! Have a nice life!" He smashed his glass on the floor, flipped the entire room a two-fingered salute, and staggered away.

O-o-O-o-O

While Aang's speech had been born mostly of bitterness, there was truth to his words. Nobody had expected Sokka and Toph to end up together.

Sokka had no luck with women. None. Any girl he really cared about had a habit of dying on him. First Yue, sacrificing herself and leaving him with a wound that reopened every time night fell. Then Suki, struck down by Azula while he was slinging haikus. Everyone worried about him after that. He retreated a bit with girls. While still an idiotic flirt, but he stopped being so serious. He wasn't afraid to break a girl's heart if a prettier one stood around the corner… or so he claimed. One-night stands abounded, but nothing much longer.

Toph had never had a boyfriend, at least not one that her friends had met. She didn't seem to notice boys. Gender made no difference to her, perhaps because she couldn't see. She kicked anyone's ass.

Together… no one was sure if they were friends, let alone lovers. Toph refused to refer to Sokka as anything but Snoozles or Meathead, and Sokka, while accepting enough, didn't seem to know she was a girl and was thus constantly assaulted by rocks.

Apparently, though, Snoozles and Meathead were petnames, and Sokka was _very_ aware she was a girl, since the two of them announced their engagement not long after the Fire Lord's marriage.

When asked about it, Toph would blush slightly, look away, and mumble something about stupidity. Sokka would rub the back of his neck, babble incoherently for a moment, then make some ridiculous distraction ("OHMIGOD! Momo's earthbending!" was a common one) and run.

Confusion? Yeah. Weird looks? You bet. But for the most part, their friends seemed accepting of it. Especially Aang. Like everyone, he had been utterly gobsmacked, and then he smiled and hugged them and asked if they had picked a date yet.

If he made a rather flimsy excuse to duck out early, everyone was too busy to notice anyway.

O-o-O-o-O

Katara picked her way through the crowd of guests, doing her best not to step on anyone. It was only about an hour into the reception, but Sokka and Toph had made most of their friends at bars, so it wasn't that surprising about half of them were already stone drunk. Lady Bei Fong's servants were going to have quite a bit to clean up in the morning…

She finally managed to make her way over to Sokka and Toph, who, amazingly, weren't among the crowd passed out on the floor. "Have either of you seen Aang?"

Sokka shrugged. "Not since he freaked out earlier. Have you felt him around, Toph?"

"He's still in the building, but not in the main crowd." Toph gestured vaguely at the revelers.

Sokka winced as he took full stock of the carnage. "Maybe it was a bad idea to invite our friends from the Haggard Prince…"

"It wouldn't have been if we were drunk," sighed Toph, slinging an arm around his neck.

"Yeah," said Sokka, casting a longing look at the wine.

Katara made an annoyed noise. "Could you point me in his direction, at least?"

Toph pointed left, almost smacking Sokka in the face. "Somewhere that way."

Katara headed off, wishing she had Sokka's machete.

O-o-O-o-O

Everyone was surprised when, after the end of the war, Katara and Aang weren't dating or even traveling together anymore. Aang stayed in the Fire Nation to help Fire Lord Zuko avoid civil war amid the nobles and common folk and everyone else who had been pissed off by the war. Katara went to the South Pole with Sokka to help rebuild (and, in Sokka's case, repopulate) their home.

Everyone, in that case, refers to the general populace. No one that traveled with the Avatar was particularly surprised. There was bad blood between Katara and Aang; it was an understood fact. Katara treated Aang the same as ever, but he seemed to have grown out of his crush and no longer preferred her company over all others. In fact, he loathed being with her at all. It wasn't that shocking. Rejection can do that to a friendship.

What surprised the Avatar's group was Fire Lord Zuko's announcement of his engagement to Mai.

O-o-O-o-O

Katara found Aang hiding in a small sitting room, tending the fire. She approached cautiously. She cared for Aang as much as she always had. Never mind that, in his own, quiet way, he seemed to hate her.

O-o-O-o-O

She tried to repair their bond when Aang came to the South Pole. With the Fire Lord stable on his throne and the Earth King busy repairing Ba Sing Se and Omashu, he could no longer avoid his duties there.

He had been happy to see Sokka, Hakoda, and Pakku, but he had given Katara only a stiff bow to acknowledge her presence before going off with a bunch of the small children of the tribe, who still remembered his first visit. Her attempts to talk with him later hadn't been ignored, but he had answered with a politeness so formal it was almost rude, considering all they'd been through together.

Thankfully, the Fire Lord's marriage had been a few weeks later, so Aang had left with Sokka. Katara, of course, didn't go. She had been invited, but she just couldn't bear to see the man she had once loved marry someone she had once called an enemy.

She tried to collect her thoughts about everyone directly after Aang left. His treatment had cut deep, but she could understand his actions. It was exactly the way she would have treated Zuko in a similar position. Those who held your heart and rejected it always kept a small piece, and you weren't whole anymore. You could learn to ignore that hole when you weren't around them, but when you could see the missing part of yourself…ah, what perfect agony.

Watching her tears fall on the snow as she thought about how blank his face had been when he spoke to her, Katara wondered if perhaps he had always held a little bit of her heart.

O-o-O-o-O

Looking at him now, Katara saw someone much different. The young man at the South Pole had been someone she didn't know; the young man tending the fire and occasionally wiping at his eyes was someone she knew all too well.

She stepped into the room and finally managed, "Aang?"

He jumped at her voice as though he heard a ghost. He blinked several times before recognizing her. He was drunk, yes, but it was more that he was lost in his thoughts. "Oh. Hello, Katara." He tipped her a stiff bow, and Katara toyed with the idea of slapping him for a moment. It would help with the drunkenness, and it would also make her feel better.

However, her urge to comfort him won out. She took a few steps toward him, and Aang took a few steps back. He lifted his head and crossed his arms, playing with the prayer beads at his neck as if attempting to remind her that he was no longer the little boy she'd held in her arms who only wanted to go penguin sledding. "I just wanted to know if you were all right. You seemed upset earlier."

"Earlier?" said Aang, and Katara flinched at his tone. She had heard that bitterness in Sokka's voice before, but never in Aang's. She was surprised to realize how much it stung to see him like this. "I'm upset _now_."

Katara hugged herself and said nothing.

After a moment, Aang glared at her and twirled his hand in an "On with it!" gesture. "This is the part where you ask if I want to talk, and _I_ say that you have no right to, and you look hurt and leave me _alone_. We've done this often enough. You should know the drill by now."

Quietly, Katara said, "I know I've got no right, Aang… but I'll still listen."

Aang looked at her for a long moment before collapsing onto the divan, cradling his head. "It's just… this mess has got so much to do with you." He looked up at her. His voice was clear and steady, but there was a tear on his cheek. "_She_ was the only one who knew how much you hurt me."

Katara hugged herself tighter, closing her eyes.

"I know it's bad of me to bring it up… but it's true. And none of the other stuff makes sense unless you know about what happened just after-" He shook his head.

"Just after I kissed Zuko," Katara finished for him. She sat down on the opposite divan: close enough to comfort, but not close enough to crowd. "Please. Tell me. I mean…we never really-"

"Worked it out," agreed Aang, shaking his head. He pressed his hands to his face, trying to keep his voice light. It didn't work. "I had lessons to keep me busy, and you had him. So we ignored it."

Katara nodded. She wanted to put a hand on his shoulder or console him _somehow_, but she knew that touching him would make him retreat. This conversation was the only shot they had at repairing their friendship. He would never be willing to speak of it sober. Katara wanted that piece of her heart back, so she just let him speak.

O-o-O-o-O

Katara never regretted admitting her feelings for Zuko, but she had to admit, she could have done it more tactfully. But it was just so _annoying_, catching the guy you liked staring at you and then looking away when he saw you staring back.

Under the right circumstances, Katara could be endlessly patient, endlessly kind, endlessly tactful. Raging hormones and close quarters, though, are _not_ the right circumstances.

Altogether not an excuse for kissing your best friend's worst enemy three feet away from him.

Sokka looked like someone had just punched him in the stomach, then slapped him with a dead fish. Aang looked much the same, but his expression was tinged with despair instead of comic surprise.

Toph cocked her head, confused. "What's going on?"

"Ask someone else," said Aang, sounding hoarse. "I have to go do… some stuff. Far away." He stumbled off.

Toph turned to Sokka, who was still gaping. "Sokka? …_Sokka_?" She punched him; he jumped away with a loud yelp. "Oh, good, you're fine. Now what gives?"

Rubbing his arm, Sokka shook his head. "This is obviously a bad dream, so I'm just gonna hope I wake up."

Toph made a face. "Iroh?"

"I would tell you, but I fear if I say it, I will laugh, and I don't want two angry benders after me."

On the other side of the camp, Zuko finally broke out of his stupor. "What was _that_?"

"That's what I've been trying to find out," said Toph.

"It's called a kiss, Zuko," said Katara. Toph could hear the blush in her voice. "People do it when they like someone."

Toph blinked. "No wonder Twinkletoes is upset." She left Sokka to his wishful thinking, Iroh to his muffled laughter, and Zuko and Katara to their argument.

She walked around, her steps slow to increase her chances of sensing Aang's vibrations. Nothing. _He must be in a tree or something…_ "Aang?"

O-o-O-o-O

Aang paused there for a moment. "I think that was the only reason I actually answered her- she called me by name for once instead of Twinkletoes." A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. Then he threw another log on the fire, and the smile disappeared with the sparks that drifted up.

Katara hugged herself, not wanting to think of what she had been doing while Aang had been talking to Toph. It had been well over two years now since Zuko had publicly announced his engagement to Mai, and a little longer than that since he had privately told her, but it still stung. Katara had a feeling that she and Aang understood each other quite well right now.

O-o-O-o-O

There was a small gust of wind, and Aang landed in front of her. Toph took a moment to assess his position before putting a hand on his shoulder. "You all right?"

Aang shook his head and wiped at his eyes with his arm. "Not really, Toph, not really."

Toph frowned. "You, um… you wanna talk about it? I'm not really good at the comforting thing, but I'll listen if you do…"

Aang swallowed hard. "Yeah." He didn't sit so much as collapse into the lotus position. "I mean, it's one thing for Katara to say she doesn't like me. Or just plain pick someone else. But this… this… it's betrayal." Aang shook his head again. "I gave up _everything_ for her! And at the end, when I had to, I couldn't give her up until things were too bad for me to do anything else!" In his agitation, Aang jumped to his feet and started pacing.

Toph only listened, leaning against a tree.

"And then she- and _him_- He's tried to kill me more times than I could count, and she still chooses him! Right in front of me!" Aang pressed his palms to his eyes in a feeble attempt to stem the sobs.

"I can hear your tears, you know. It's better if you let them out. Go ahead and scream if you want to."

So Aang screamed. It was loud and full of pain, even though his voice cracked halfway through. Then he fell to his knees and curled into a little miserable ball.

O-o-O-o-O

Katara interrupted accidentally. "I always thought that was a small animal dying," she murmured.

Aang, who was still leaning over the fire, finally looked at her, a frown attempting to be a smile on his face. "You were close. It was a small heart breaking."

Katara flinched.

Aang just shrugged and turned his face back to the fire. "I said it was bad of me to bring it up."

"And I said I'd listen."

Aang looked at her sharply, then leaned his head against the wall. "That you did."

O-o-O-o-O

When he finished, Toph patted his back. "Feel better?"

"A little," Aang admitted, sitting up and wiping his eyes. "You're better at this than you think."

"If I am, then you can't tell anyone. People'll think I've gone soft."

Aang smiled, sort of. "Why do you try to act so mean all the time, anyway? You're nice."

Toph shrugged. "People think you're sweet and they try to take advantage of you, always wanting something. It's really annoying."

"Oh, I get it. This is part of the loner thing."

Toph nodded. "Besides, sometimes it's just easier to be mean." She helped Aang to his feet. "They'll probably be wondering where we are."

O-o-O-o-O

"At the time," Aang said, "that really confused me." He sat down again and actually met her eyes. "I realize now, though, that it's what I've been doing to you for ages. I'm sorry about it."

Katara nodded. "I understand." She smiled thinly at him.

"Yeah, I guess you do," said Aang, with a hoarse little laugh. "You just haven't had it happen twice."

Katara blinked, her eyes widening. "Oh, _Aang_," she whispered, finally realizing what this was all about.

Aang nodded, propping his chin on his fist. "Opposites may attract," he murmured, tracing the air symbol at his throat, "but that doesn't mean they work out."

Katara supposed the smile she was wearing now mirrored Aang's. "Yeah."

"You really shouldn't blame Zuko for doing what he thought was right. I know how hard it is to choose duty over someone you love."

"Knowing that they had to do something doesn't drive away the aches, though…"

"I know." Then he paused and shook his head. "No, I don't. I know what it's like for your love to choose someone who makes them happy, but I don't know what it's like for them to choose something that doesn't." Katara frowned. "If you actually talked to Zuko- or even just looked at him once in a while- you'd see it too. He doesn't like being Fire Lord." Katara looked at him, a question that she couldn't quite get herself to ask in his eyes. "But he does love her… Maybe not in the same way he loves you, but they're fine."

Katara stretched out on the divan, resting her head on her left arm, and said nothing. She made a twirling motion with her free hand, and Aang went on. She wasn't listening as attentively as she could have, though, since Aang had said _loves_ instead of_ loved_.

"I mean, it's not like I was expecting much. I didn't know that Toph had a thing for Sokka- did you?" Katara shook her head. "Oh, good. I was hoping it wasn't just me." He sighed. "I mean, I knew that you and Sokka would go home eventually and that Zuko and Iroh would have to fix the Fire Nation…but I always figured she'd stay with me, and that'd be enough. I'd have to be thicker than Sokka to think she ever had those kind of feelings for me, but it would be nice to have her around."

Idly bending the wine in his glass, Aang murmured, "It didn't work that way, though, did it? We all had to separate. Toph had to head back here when she came into her inheritance, and everyone else had too much to fix to keep in touch."

Katara nodded. "I think Toph and Sokka are the only ones who haven't really changed."

"Nah, they have," said Aang, sipping his drink. "They've just changed differently. All the rest of our old team is sadder. They're the happy ones. For once, I don't think Sokka can find anything to complain about." This startled a laugh out of Katara. Aang smiled a little. "I know, weird, right?" He put his hands behind his head. "For once, it's us complaining. But we don't have anyone to smack us upside the head and tell us to quit."

"I think even Toph would admit we've earned a little whining," Katara replied, taking the glass from him and having a drink. "All this selfless serving of our nations and whatnot."

Aang laughed. It was a bitter, jagged sound that made Katara wish she could make him laugh properly. "Yeah, you're right. We should all get medals or something- you and Zuko especially. Giving up earthly stuff is expected of me as the Avatar _and_ an Air Nomad, but everyone's used to Fire Lords and benders doing whatever the hell they want."

Katara smiled. "That's for sure." A silence settled in between them, and for the first time in the longest while, it was neither awkward nor stiff. When Aang reached for his glass back, Katara caught his hand. "Is there anything else?"

Aang's smile went a little strained as he slipped his hand out of her grip; he seemed glad to finish off the wine. "I think that'd be pushing it. I love Toph and needed to finally tell someone, that's all." He swirled the dregs of his drink before looking at her cautiously. "Would it be pushing it to ask you about Zuko?" Katara glanced at him sharply, and Aang just held up his hands. "I figured it would, but I also figured you'd never talked to anyone about him either."

Katara sighed. "I haven't." Twirling one of her so-called "hair loopies" around her finger, Katara told her story, much more quietly than Aang had.

O-o-O-o-O

Katara had always figured Zuko would be the one to unbraid her hair.

In the Water Tribes, unmarried women wore their hair in braids- always some sort, although the styles varied. It was the simplified version of the Northern Tribe's engagement necklace. On her wedding night, the woman's husband would undo her braid, and from then on she was free to wear their hair as she wished.

Katara knew she was young, and that Zuko, at least partially, saw her as a child as much as a lover. But she also knew that he had been the first one to whisper oaths of love while they sat together in the moonlight.

If he was so obsessed with honor, why had it been so easy for him to break those oaths?

That wasn't a fair question to ask, though. Zuko's honor had been bound up with his country long before it had been bound up with her, and surely an oath made to a nation was more important than one made to a single person.

She had told herself that more times than she could count, usually when trying to fall asleep, and it never helped. She still ended up having nightmares, and her pillow still got a good watering.

A day after Zuko had been crowned Fire Lord, after all the pomp and circumstance had finally been laid to rest and he was finally alone, she approached him. Zuko was as hard to sneak up on as Toph, in his own way; a few months of peace had done nothing for his paranoia. She should have known something was weighing heavy on his mind because that night she managed it, creeping along stone floors to his balcony and slipping her hands over his eyes. "Guess who," she whispered in his ear.

Zuko didn't smile or make a face. His expression didn't change at all.

"Are we nervous or something?" Katara asked, running a hand down his arm.

Zuko grabbed the wandering hand. "You have no idea." He reached up as though to run his free hand through his hair, then realized he was wearing it in a ponytail again. This only seemed to dismay him further. "Katara, we need to talk."

Katara perched on the balcony, swinging her legs. "About what?"

She had been in a pretty good mood until she scrutinized Zuko's face, watching the way he seemed to retreat into himself. He sighed again. "This," he replied, twining his fingers with hers. "I'm the Fire Lord now. My country's on the edge of civil war. I have to show them that I'm not like my father."

Katara smiled at him, hoping to give him some of the reassurance he so obviously needed. "I know. You shouldn't worry. You love your people, Zuko. You'll be fine."

"Katara, I have to show them I'm strong." He let go of her hands and stepped away. "That the nation is strong. I can't- _we_ can't."

Katara smiled nervously, wondering if this was one of his least successful attempts at a joke. "Can't what?"

Zuko took a few more steps back and crossed his arms, looking at the floor. "Katara... yesterday, after the ceremony, I asked Mai to marry me."

Katara wondered if Zuko had suddenly switched nations and become an earthbender, since he was quite adept at making the earth crack and tremble under her feet. "What?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Zuko, speaking quickly, said, "I had to. The nation needs a show of strength. If the nobles are together, then at least we won't have them at each other's throats as well as the common folk."

Katara, though, barely heard him. She slipped off the balcony. "So you're marrying Mai?" she repeated, touching the pendant at her throat.

Zuko nodded. "She's nice enough, and I know that she can help me make the right decisions. I love you, Katara, but there's nothing I can do. My country needs me."

"I need you, too," Katara whispered, undoing the necklace.

His face fell, and he reached for her, but she shook her head. Until then, he had seemed semi-hopeful for their friendship, but he put his arms down. He understood now."Katara, don't-"

She threw it at his feet. "You took it once already. Keep it this time. It reminds me too much of you."

Walking out of the room, Katara noticed how strange it was that she could control all liquid but tears.

O-o-O-o-O

Aang's grey eyes were very wide in the firelight. "I always wondered where he got it," he whispered. "He wears it all the time, on a chain under his shirt… I felt so sorry for Mai. She felt second-best. Zuko seemed happy enough at their wedding, but that first dance…"

O-o-O-o-O

No one could tell if Zuko and Mai were happy about getting married. Smiles, after all, were easy to fake, even though neither was known for their acting.

And that first dance… The bride, having already been stripped of her ceremonial clothing, could now move freely, and during the first dance between husband and wife, she had to convince him into her arms with her movements.

But instead of the usual, seven-veils-esque dance, Mai just held out her hand to her old friend and new husband. He stared at her for a long moment.

Ordinarily, there was much giggling during this part of the ceremony or at least _some_ chatter, but instead all was silent. Everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath.

Then Zuko took it, and she slipped her arms around his neck.

_They'll survive,_ Aang though, watching with a small but proud smile. _They don't have destiny to ease their way, but they're both just stubborn enough to make it work._

And it did. The melancholy in Zuko's eyes eventually faded to a shadow which could easily be mistaken for the cares of a young ruler, and Ty Lee said she had never seen Mai smile so much as when she was with him.

O-o-O-o-O

Aang fiddled with his necklace again. "Was that out of line?"

Katara shook her head. "It's ok. He did what he had to. I don't think I'll ever like it, but I accepted it a long time ago." She bit her lip, then decided tonight wasn't a night for hesitating. "Aang, why did you say _loves_ instead of _loved_ before?"

Aang looked surprised. "I thought you of all people would understand that when you love someone, it leaves a mark that never fades."

"Like a hole?"

Aang nodded slowly. "Maybe it's just the wine talking, but I know that I can still see why I loved you as a child." He drew his knees up to his chin. "I miss happy Katara… I miss happy me, for that matter."

Katara reached over and took his hand, giving him a full smile for the first time all night. "I miss happy you, too."

Aang smiled back, absently playing with her fingers as he sat up. He gestured at the fire, dimming it to embers. He was leaning toward her, but he didn't seem to notice.

Katara had a feeling he was remembering the same thing she was. "Too bad the ceiling won't light up," she whispered. Her voice was reluctant, but she was leaning closer as well.

"Or not," Aang said, also whispering.

And that was when Zuko and Mai burst in. Zuko's tunic was half-off, revealing a thin scar that ran from shoulderblade to thigh, which looked suspiciously consistent with a knife wound. His fingers were twined in Mai's hair, and she looked drunk on wine as well as him.

Katara jerked off the divan, pressing close to the wall. "If only I could blame it on being drunk," she murmured. She took a deep breath, then ran past Zuko and Mai, her arms clasped tight around herself.

"Katara-!" said Zuko and Aang in unison.

Mai made a soft little noise and pushed Zuko away, stumbling off in the opposite direction.

Zuko reached after her before deciding it was pointless and leaning against the doorframe. He swore once, twice, three times, and punched the wall for good measure.

"Why is it that both of us are so good at making complete messes of things?" Aang murmured, looking at the disparate Fire Lord, who was now pressing his palms against his eyes to stop a brewing headache.

"It's a talent," muttered Zuko, sinking onto the divan Katara had just abandoned. "What'd you do?"

"If you hadn't come in here, I probably would have kissed Katara," Aang sighed, stretching out again. "Which would have not only been stupid and problematic, it would have also been as pointless as beating a dead ostrich horse."

"I don't even want to think what Mai and I would have done. They'd never get the stains out, that's for sure."

Aang made a face, looking disgusted by the prospect. "Spare me the details… speaking of Mai, shouldn't you be following her?"

"I will in a moment. Right now, do you have any wine left?"

Aang held up his empty glass with a "What can you do?" smile.

Zuko let out a sigh of absolute despair. "Today just keeps getting better."

(And there's that bit done. The next part will focus on Zuko and Mai. It should be up in a few days.)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: "There's no sense in complaining It doesn't change your mind Take me by the hand Let's compromise"

(An: Basically, this picks up after Aang wanders off and gives us the lowdown on why Mai and Zuko were all hot and heavy… It actually is silly before dissolving into angst! Huzzah! Assuming that they actually have whiskey in the Avatarverse... There is some implied femmeslash in this part, so, um… yeah. It's only in one section, and there's no actual… stuff.)

"What was that all about?" Zuko asked, cocking his head. Mai just rolled her eyes.

Toph shrugged. "Eh, Twinkletoes has his tail in a twist over something. No big deal." She reached for a glass of wine, but Zuko slapped her hand away. She glared in his general direction. "Why," she asked, in a tone that most of her friends would take as an excuse to run far, _far_ away, "would you think that was a good idea, Lord Zuko?"

"Lady Bei Fong," said Zuko, in a similar tone, "would you like to remember your honeymoon?"

Toph paused, sighing. "Good point." She crossed her arms. "But I'm _thirsty_."

"So have some water. It's bad enough you got drunk at my wedding."

"Are you _still_ upset over that?" Sokka asked, breezing over. He rolled his eyes and slipped an arm around Toph's shoulders.

"You tied Mai to the bed! I still have the scar."

"Where?" asked Sokka, cocking his head.

Mai smirked, pouring herself some tea. Zuko went red and mumbled something about masochism. "It's not in somewhere I generally display to the public, ok?" he finally said.

Toph and Sokka started snickering.

"I don't know why I came," sighed Zuko. "I hate you both."

"Of course you do," said Mai, patting his arm.

O-o-O-o-O

It had taken a long time for them to get to that easy, jokey point. After the disastrous events at Ba Sing Se, nothing seemed like it was going to go right for the group, ever.

And then everything did.

In an attempt to break Iroh out of the prisons in the palace, Katara had come across Zuko. Somehow, after a fight that reportedly destroyed half the jail and then some, Zuko and Katara "settled their differences" (how, either refused to say), and Iroh agreed to teach Aang firebending.

Toph was the most willing to accept the firebenders. She was already friends with Iroh, and while Zuko's angst annoyed her, his tenacity and total lack of curiousity or a sense of humor impressed her. As she put it, "A guy's got to be really strong or really stupid to be that stubborn." She never elaborated on which one she thought was more likely, though.

Aang was perfectly fine with Iroh, but he had issues with Zuko. Not just because all of his previous efforts to make friends had been spurned, but also because of the looks he and Katara had been shooting each other. The kind that deserved a capital _L._

Sokka wanted to murder both of them. Iroh he could tolerate, but he couldn't spend five minutes with Zuko without some kind of fight. They were both hotheaded, of course… and Sokka, like Aang, was extremely suspicious of the way Katara and Zuko looked at each other.

But eventually, somehow, through shared strangeness and pain, they became friends. If they had drifted apart over the years- after all, they all had obligations that took them far away- they remained close. Mostly, anyway.

O-o-O-o-O

"I'm bored," said Toph, snapping Zuko out of his memory.

"Why are you talking to me?" Zuko asked. "Ask your husband."

"Can't. Ty Lee's dancing with him… or something."

"I think it's an 'or something'," Zuko agreed, cocking his head. "Mai, what on earth is she doing to him?"

"She's trying to teach him yoga," Mai said, sipping her tea. "She thinks he needs to relax. Better watch out, Zuzu, or she'll come after you next."

"What is _in_ that tea?"

"Just a healthy shot of whiskey," Toph admitted.

"How much is healthy?"

Toph shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't make it."

Zuko looked at his wife and sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't make any difference if I told you to stop drinking that."

Mai shook her head. "Nope."

"Even if I remind you that you have the tolerance for alcohol of a snow lemming?"

Mai nodded with a small smile that was as close to a grin as she got.

Zuko sighed and rolled his eyes. He had been married to the woman for two years. He knew by now that she would do what she wanted.

O-o-O-o-O

It had never been in Zuko's plans to marry Mai.

When he was younger, he had never thought he would marry at all. He was too klutzy with girls. Vaguely, he had known that as the Fire Lord, he would be obligated to produce an heir, but at nine, that didn't seem very close. Neither did it at twelve, or even at fourteen.

And then, when he was banished… well, there's your answer. Who on earth would be daft enough to want to marry a banished prince? He was honorless, so loveless went hand-in-hand with that.

Nothing changed when he was wandering around the Earth Kingdom with Iroh. Jin didn't count, since everyone in Ba Sing Se was clearly quite insane. _Especially_ his sister and her friends.

He knew Mai was crazy; after all, she made it a point to be buddy buddy with Azula. She put status and power above everything else in her crazy little games. She could be as ruthless as Azula.

And for some reason, he still let her kiss him.

Granted, Zuko's brain tended to shut down when he was kissed- well, he'd only been kissed once before, but it had happened then, and it happened again when Mai did it- but he usually snapped out of it after the first few seconds.

He didn't push her away or step back, though; he allowed her to do it, even kissed back a little bit, for an experiment. It was mostly compassion- he could taste need on her lips, not just for him but for reassurance, understanding, a kind word from someone who knew the ways of the world as well as she did.

Still, even then, he didn't think of marriage, although he had always known his mother had had the governor's daughter in mind for his future wife. Mostly because he knew she wasn't thinking of it either. Mai wasn't given to fantasy or romance; on the rare ocassion that something made her truly feel, she acted on it. She was rather like him in that regard. So he wasn't surprised when she simply let go of him and walked away, going back to speaking to him only when forced by Azula, and even less so when she caught him alone and did it again.

He had simply never thought himself the type for commitment. He could barely get along with his uncle, and Iroh had more patience than most saints.

And then he met Katara.

Well, not met, really; they had faced each other on opposite sides of a battlefield often enough, and there was that whole affair with the necklace. But when she got him to leave Ba Sing Se, he actually got to know her. Grudgingly and with open hostility on both sides, yes, but the time spent together in the cave had changed things between them, and the trip to the Eastern Air Temple where the rest of her friends were cemented it, made them… friends?

That wasn't exactly the right word, since Zuko had never had a friend that he wanted to slam against the wall and kiss senseless so she would finally _shut up_, but it was about as close as it came. He hadn't thought they would ever be lovers. Close, yes, but there was a line there that wouldn't be safe to cross- he knew the Avatar was also in love with her, and frankly, Aang was a much better choice. Sweeter. Less likely to make her cry.

He figured Katara had thought his self-esteem issues were the main reason he hadn't done anything about his feelings, which explained why she kissed him with so little preamble. Some part of him was aware that their relationship would be a setback in his status in the group, but he didn't care. As usual, he wasn't worried about the consequences of his actions. He was a teenager, truly in love for the first time in his life, and nothing else mattered but the girl in his arms. Zuko had never been one to worry about consequences, anyway.

He had done his best to love her and be true, but he still never thought of marriage. Other things had started to matter before he could. His people, for one thing. Four years after the fall of Fire Lord Ozai, Fire Lord Iroh passed away peacefully in his sleep, leaving Zuko as the only heir. He didn't want it, but Zuko was not one to shirk his duty. He would do his best by his people… even though it meant he would have to give up the one he held most dear.

So he had asked for Mai's hand. Later, during the first dance of their wedding, he would see that look in her eyes a second time: a kind of pleading sadness, trust that couldn't quite flower. "You're in love with Katara," she whispered, hugging herself and refusing to meet his gaze.

Zuko made no attempt to deny it. Rather, he tilted her face toward his. "There's nothing I can do about that. I'm asking you because I know you can help me, Mai, and because I know I can love you."

Mai's eyes flicked to his for a moment before she sighed and nodded, and for once, Zuko was the kisser, not the person being kissed.

It had never been in his plans to marry Mai, but neither had so many things that had changed his life, and for once, he didn't have to wonder if he had made the right decision.

O-o-O-o-O

Someone elbowed Zuko in the ribs, again knocking him from his thoughts. It wasn't surprising he was so introspective tonight, considering that he was at Katara's brother's wedding. Still, Mai didn't look pleased. "Thinking hard, or are you just constipated?" she asked.

"How much of that tea have you had?" Zuko replied, with a slight frown.

Mai shrugged.

"Several cups, from the sound of it," Toph replied.

"And you're still conscious," Zuko muttered. "Will wonders never cease."

"It's not _that_ much whiskey."

Zuko looked at the earthbender suspiciously. "You haven't been at it, have you?"

Toph and Sokka snapped to attention and flipped him salutes. "No, sir, Lord Zuko, sir!" cried both of them in unison.

Zuko grimaced. "Agni, you guys are going to have no friends. You'll be too busy making jokes at their expense."

"No, see, that's why Toph agreed to marry me in the first place," said Sokka. "She wanted someone she could kick around who couldn't complain about it."

"But you'll go right ahead and do it, won't you, Snoozles?" Toph replied, sounding almost affectionate.

Instead of objecting to the nickname, Sokka just sighed and went to break up a fight.

Mai whistled softly. "Wow, you've got him _trained_."

Sokka paused in dragging a drunk to yell, "Please object to that!"

But Toph just shook her head and laughed.

Sokka made a disgusted noise and resumed his business.

Mai slipped an arm around Zuko's neck with a sigh of, "I'm _bored_, Zuko."

"And what are you suggesting I do about it?" he replied. If he had been looking at her, he would have noticed and understood the sly smirk on Mai's face, but he was too busy snickering as he watched Sokka smack away drunks with his boomerang.

Mai giggled- actually _giggled_- and Zuko glanced at her. She rested her head on his shoulder and lazily stroked his cheek. Zuko stared at her for a moment. "Don't tell me you're still going to complain about the tea," Mai murmured.

"Um..." said Zuko.

"Good answer." Mai started moving her hands lower, and Zuko, never one to be cuddly in public, dragged her off to the first empty room they found. No, he wasn't going to complain about the tea, but would it hurt to complain about his luck again?

O-o-O-o-O

Their first night together, Zuko had been hesitant. It was just his way. He wasn't good with women. And he didn't have the bright torch of passion to guide him; he just had the vague light of duty and friendship.

So the two of them sat on opposite sides of the bed, facing each other, neither quite sure what to do. Then Mai had sighed in disgust and pulled her shirt off. "Do you know what your father called this, Zuko?" she murmured. "He called it his royal obligation. I overheard your mother talking about it once. Are you much the same? I wouldn't be surprised."

Zuko often found himself wondering why he was so easy to bait. And Mai was just so good at it. Almost better than Azula.

Still, it was an easy way to get the awkwardness behind them. They didn't have love or fate or any of those magical words to help the process. Nope, they had Zuko's temper and Mai's sadistic streak. No wonder he wasn't sure what to do when Mai ran off.

O-o-O-o-O

When Katara came into the main hall, Sokka didn't even have to ask. After all, Zuko and Mai had just left, and they hadn't looked like they were trying to find a bathroom. "I'll kill him," Sokka growled. "I'll _kill_ him."

"You won't," said Toph, grabbing his hand. "You'll be sane and stay here. That's not our business."

"But she's _my_ sister!"

"Give her a minute. Be decent."

Sokka glared at Toph (even though he knew she couldn't see it) but let his sister be.

Katara looked upset: every few moments, she would absently brush away tears welling in her eyes. But the eyes themselves were distant and didn't really seem to see anything. Her mouth was curved not in a depressed frown but in a confused one. Except for the tears, she might have been sleepwalking.

And she was, pretty much, but instead of walking in a dream, it was a memory that haunted her. Aang and Zuko were swirling around in her mind, fighting for her attention. It was Aang- _Earlier? I'm upset _nowIt was Zuko- _What was_ that? It was both of them, calling her name.

But it was Aang who caught her arm and smiled at her nervously. "Katara?" he asked, in a very quiet voice.

For a moment, Katara didn't look at him, thinking he was still a part of her dream. Then she snapped out of it, carefully removing Aang's hand.

The monk's face fell. He stepped back, plucking at his robe with an expression that was upset but really not surprised. "It was foolish of me to think- to try that anyway," he murmured. "I guess I'm not as good at holding my drink as I thought." He tried to laugh, but like his smile earlier, it didn't really work.

Katara thought she had recovered, but apparently the Aang in her head had one more thing to say- _I miss happy me, for that matter. _ "What would it take to make you happy?" she asked.

Aang stared at her, clearly quite taken aback by this. "I... um..." He turned a dark shade of red, but he said, "Some part of me's been waiting for that kiss for a good six years now. It wasn't very nice of you to deny me it... again. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but-"

Katara shut him up. She already had too much to worry about.

On the other side of the room, Sokka blinked. "...I guess you were right, Toph," he said, eyebrows raised. "She isn't upset."

Toph smirked. "Aren't I always?"

O-o-O-o-O

Zuko found Mai without much trouble, since she was telling her woes to a plant. Loudly. Zuko had to wonder if she thought it was deaf. He approached cautiously; you could never tell if her aim was going to be as affected by her inebriation as her movements. "Mai?"

Mai paused and didn't look at him for a long moment. "I'm sorry," she said finally, "I thought I heard someone who was supposed to be my husband speaking to me." The stress she put on _husband_ made Zuko wince. "But, no, seems I was right all along."

When it didn't seem like she was going to continue, Zuko asked, "About what?"

"About _you_," and she whirled on him. "It's been two years, Zuko. Two years! And you're still in love with that damn waterbender, and I'm still on the outside! Mai! The one who doesn't fit in! Mai! The weird one! Mai! The one no one loves! The one who just gets to _watch_ while everyone around her is perfectly happy!"

Zuko blinked. He had always known Mai doubted his feelings (and she had every right- they hadn't been there when he proposed), but this was new.

"Well, you know what, Zuko?" she replied, ignoring his confusion. "When we got married, I didn't love you either!"

And _that_ was a slap in the face. "Mai?" Zuko repeated in a much quieter tone. He was surprised to discover he was hurt by that confession. He loved Mai now, after all, and he had always assumed she had been in love with him the whole time. But to know it was a marriage of convience for her as well as him…

"I didn't!" Mai cried, sounding almost petulant now. There had been tears in her eyes her entire speech, but now she actually started to cry, falling into his arms and repeating, in much the same tone as he had, "I _didn't_." And then she explained.

O-o-O-o-O

It was stupid, Mai later realized, to think that they would always be together. Living with Azula was walking the edge of the knives Mai loved so much; nothing was sure because Azula's mood changed in an instant. If you fell out of favor…

Mai, of course, had never been afraid of the princess. She knew Azula wouldn't kill her- it wouldn't do to kill a noble, not at all- and pain didn't scare Mai. She had just never thought Azula would try to take something of hers. She knew the princess was capable of great cruelty, but she never thought Azula would deal her the deepest blow in sincerity instead of malice.

Mai was always one to keep her crushes to herself, and Ty Lee made her crush on the Water Tribe boy no secret. Didn't even attempt it. So Mai said nothing and kept her usual blank face when Ty Lee spoke of Sokka. She thought it was excellent acting on her part, considering that she wanted to scream with rage and jealousy.

In a way, she was glad Azula never found out. For one thing, she didn't even want to think about how bad Azula would tease her for falling for a girl this time, and for another, she didn't like competition. Of course, by the time she learned Azula was competition, she didn't have to worry about getting teased.

Despite her apathetic attitude, Mai did attempt to look on the bright side now and again for a change of pace.

Exactly how she ended up falling for Ty Lee was a long story that involved a lot of hugging, what had to be flirting (even though Mai had thought Ty Lee only went one way at the time), and plenty of denial.

But Mai was never one to lie to herself for long- others, yes, that was fun, but lying to yourself would sooner or later end up problematic.

So she, the governor's daughter, untouchable, unfeeling Mai, had fallen in love with a girl. Which made sense, considering the only other contact she'd had while traveling the Earth Kingdom had been Azula. Azula, who was psychopathic and unpredictable and just generally creepy as hell. Azula, whose taunts and barbs still got through to poor, optimistic Ty Lee.

And Azula was still her first choice!

Perhaps they had been together the entire time, and Mai simply hadn't noticed. She wasn't as good as Azula at reading people, after all. But even if they had, the only time they were open about it was in Ba Sing Se. Or, at least, open enough for Mai to catch them together.

Her heart full of jealousy and sorrow, Mai stumbled across Zuko.

O-o-O-o-O

After that, she refused to say anything more. She just clung to him for a few minutes, and then she got up and started to straighten her clothing. "Maybe I shouldn't be angry at you, but I _am_," Mai insisted. "Twice is two times too many."

Zuko also stood up, eyeing her warily, mostly because he didn't quite understand where she was going with this… but also because she could have been checking for her stilettos. "You said you didn't love me."

Mai shook her head and stepped back, trying to emphasize her solidarity. As if to insist, _I don't need you._ "I didn't, but love has this annoying habit of coming back. You can be so _nice_ when you're not trying, Zuko. It's really exasperating."

Zuko blinked.

"You wouldn't understand, and it's not like it's really anything new, so if you don't mind, I'm going to find my dignity. I think it's hiding in the kitchen."

Zuko, who had almost believed her confession had shaken her back to sobriety, rolled his eyes. He grabbed her arm and glanced around to check for observers. Satisfied that there weren't any, he kissed her. Mai pulled away, color high in her cheeks. "I've been trying to make up with Katara for ages, Mai. I feel guilty, especially about the way I treated you. Do you know why?"

"Because passion will always be a better lay than duty?" Mai replied. She refused to meet his eyes, but there was no real malice in her voice.

Zuko sighed in disgust. Patience was something he'd learned from two years on the throne, but it was still something he had to concentrate on. "That's not why, and you know it. You're being difficult."

Mai just raised an eyebrow.

"You're _always_ difficult. But I love you, Mai, I do. I try to treat the people I love right, but I'm not good at it."

"No, you're not," Mai agreed, her voice incredibly dry.

"You're not helping, you know."

Mai nodded, looking faintly smug. "It's what I do best. Like you being an ass."

"If you knew that, why are you being so picky about this?"

Mai crossed her arms. "Zuko, I've been in love with you for most of my life. During nearly all of it, you've been oblivious or over the moon for someone else. What am I supposed to do? Welcome you back into my arms every time you remind me that you picked me because I'm sensible and have good breeding?"

"…It'd make things easier…"

"You're a bastard," mumbled Mai, but, again, there was no malice to it.

"I love your pet names."

Mai brightened a little. "Hey! We can call it make-up sex now!"

Zuko sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's not a good idea."

"I'm drunk. That's not my job."

"If you can say you're drunk, you're not really drunk."

"Zuko, I'm surprised you're not sloshed from kissing me."

"Unlike you, I can hold my liquor."

"Yeah, but I'm not the one who dances on tables."

"How can you still remember that!"

Mai smirked. "I never forget anything that would give me an edge over you, husband dear."

"Oh, right. That's what this whole discussion was about." He sighed again and grabbed her hand. "Come on, they'll probably be wondering about us."

"No they won't."

"You're hopeless!" He ignored her protests, dragging her into the main reception hall. Most of the guests were, by now, either passed out or fighting. The bride and groom were nowhere to be found. Aang, though, was standing by the punch bowl, looking oddly giddy. Zuko pulled Mai over. "Where'd Sokka and Toph go?"

Aang shrugged, glancing around. "Last I knew, they were arguing about why everyone was getting laid but them… They might have eloped."

"But they were already married," said Mai, squinting.

"Either that, or they could have gone to the Haggard Prince." Aang shrugged. "Both are likely."

"We'll just have to check to see if Appa goes missing or if they show up in the gutters," Zuko muttered. "Where's Katara?" Mai started, but Zuko flicked her in the ear. "I'm only asking because she seemed disraught."

Aang's grin widened. "She left about ten minutes ago, actually. Something about needing a nap."

"Why are you smiling like that?" Mai asked, frowning at him. "It's kind of creepy." "I was smiling?" He reached up to touch his lips, which only intensified his grin. "I guess it's because I have a dinner date with her tomorrow." "The only appointment Zuko and I have is for make-up sex."

Zuko facepalmed. "I really do hate you all."

(Definitely not as good as the first chapter. Probably because I hate Zuko and fluff. Ah, well, it fills up the humor side of the genre, at least. Review!)


End file.
